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The Current State of HTML

In this section you will explore the evolution of HTML and its future as a markup language for creating Web documents.  You will analyze current design limitations of HTML, the need for style sheets that allow separation of style from structure, and the usage of hypertext as a means for organizing information.

HTML:  Then and Now

When Tim Berners-Lee first proposed HTML at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in 1989, he was looking for a way to manage and share large amounts of information among colleagues.  As the idea developed, Berners-Lee named the mesh the World Wide Web.  He created an application of the Standard

Generalized Markup Language (SGML), a standard system for specifying document structure, and called it the Hypertext Markup Language. 

When Berners-Lee created HTML, he adopted only the elements of SGML necessary for representing basic office documents such as memos and reports.  The need for new markup languages and standards to address these demands is handled by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

HTML and the World Wide Web Consortium

After the initial surge of interest in HTML and the Web, a need arose for a standards organization to set recommended practices that would guarantee the open nature of the Web.  The W3C was founded in 1994 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to meet this need.  The W3C, led by Tim Berners-Lee, sets standards for HTML and provides an open, non-proprietary forum for industry and academic representatives to add to the evolution of this new medium. 

The Limitations of HTML

HTML is a markup language, a structured language that lets you identify common sections of a document such as headings, paragraphs, and lists.  An HTML file includes text and HTML markup elements that identify these sections.  The HTML markup elements indicate how the document sections appear in a browser.  For example, the <h1> element tags in the following code indicate that the text is first-level heading:

<h1>Welcome to My Web Page</h1>

HTML adopts many features of SGML, including the cross-platform compatibility that allows different computers to download and read the same file from the Web.  HTML is not a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) layout tool.  It was intended only to express logical document structure, not formatting characteristics.  Because HTML was not designed as a layout language, many editing programs create less-than-standard code to accomplish a certain effect.  You cannot rely on the HTML editor’s WYSIWYG view to test your Web pages.  Despite its limitations, HTML is ideal for the Web because it is an open, non-proprietary, cross-platform compatible language.

The Need for Style Sheets

Browser developers to help HTML authors bypass the design limitations of HTML introduced style elements such as <font>.  Designers and writers who are accustomed to working with today’s full-featured word processing programs want the same ability to manipulate and position objects precisely on a Web page as they can on the printed page.  Mixing style information within the structure, as is the case in most of the Web today, limits the cross-platform compatibility of the content.  Whether you come to the Web with a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Personal Communication Services (PCS) telephone, or Windows CE device, the Web server can determine the type of requesting device and supply a style sheet that matches the device.

This separation of style and structure was accomplished in 1996 by the W3C’s specification for a Web style language.  The style language, named Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), allows authors to create style rules for elements and express them externally in a document known as a style sheet.